Tomahawk Chops: Daily Atlanta Braves News Clippings For Tuesday, April 24th

Your one-page daily morning overview of Atlanta Braves news:

Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers - April 23, 2012 | MLB.com ATL Recap
"We optioned Jair tonight to give him a chance to work through his difficulties at the Triple-A level and hopefully come back ready to help us contend," Braves general manager Frank Wren said. "He is not having any health or injury issues, just needs to get back on track pitching wise."

Jurrjens optioned to Triple-A after loss | AJC Braves
"I’m just going to keep going out there and try to do my best," he said immediately after the game. "That’s the only thing I can do right now. I try to keep my team in the game. It’s just for now, I’m not the same guy I used to be. Just going to keep fighting."

Braves quotes after Monday loss to Dodgers | AJC Braves
Fredi Gonzalez: "I tell you what, I’ve never seen … yeah, there were some balls hit hard, but there were some balls that you couldn’t have thrown them [to a spot in the field] any better. I think JJ was a victim of some of that. Not all of it, but some of it. Some of the balls were over the plate again, but it was just one of those days for him. I thought Livan did a terrific job there, picking up some innings and not using the bullpen. And again he gets victimized by ball down the line that’s, I don’t know, may a couple of inches fair, by Uribe and the bases loaded. "Overall I think the good thing was we didn’t get into our bullpen."

Wilson starts over Pastornicky for opener in LA | braves.com: News
"It's all part of the process," Pastornicky said. "I got off to an all-right start and then after some balls did not fall, I think I started to press and doing stuff I don't usually do. You find yourself putting yourself into a slump. It's just one of those things where you have to relax and do what I do best, which is to make good, consistent hard contact."

Knee discomfort keeps Chipper out of lineup | braves.com: News
"I just have days where [my left knee is] just not working," said Jones, who was not in the lineup for the opener against the Dodgers. "I've been having some consistent pain in the joint line. I've been getting some treatment on it for a little bit. Yesterday was about as bad as it's been since I had surgery. As you could tell, I was not moving down the line very good."

At 40 years old, Braves veteran Chipper Jones proud to compete at highest level | braves.com: News
"It's cool for me to know I can still go out and play at a relatively high level," Jones said. "It's not that big of a deal that I'm playing at 40. But when I go out there, I want to be productive. If I didn't feel like I could be productive, I would have hung it up. Being 40 and still playing a kid's game is pretty cool. But this is it. So don't get any inklings about 41."

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The play of the night was this double-play; Big League Stew relays Vin Scully's call of the 7-6-2-3 DP:

"Hello - the old Dodgers are back! A double play on back-to-back singles."

Too bad it wasn't a decisive play in the game.